Holyoke and Chicopee both hosted their respective preliminary elections on Sept. 16 to narrow down certain races ahead of the November election.
Chicopee
The only race that required a preliminary in Chicopee was for city collector. Newcomers Frederick Krampits, Sandra Peret and Rajesh Sanghvi were all featured on the ballot for the position.
Current City Collector Stanley Iwanicki is not running for reelection.
Sanghvi received the most votes with 795 votes, or 37.5%, and Peret finished in second with 771, or 36.3% of the votes.
Krampits received 552 votes, or 26% of the votes, according to the results.
Sanghvi and Peret will face off for the city collector position in November’s municipal election.
The preliminary election saw a voter turnout of 4.9%, according to the clerk’s office. Out of the 43,938 registered voters, only 2,136 people voted.
Chicopee City Clerk Keith Rattell talked about the low voter turnout in Chicopee and stated, “At times, voter sentiment can be very low. Typically, when we see not much on the ballot for larger races, or what the voter may perceive as more interesting races, such as mayor, state rep., Senate, governor, president etc., this can happen. In the preliminary for collector, I expected about 4% to 5%.”
In addition to the collector’s office, November’s election will also feature races for the assessor’s office, at-large City Council, council positions in Wards 2, 3 and 5, and School Committee at-large.
Mayor John Vieau is running uncontested.
Rattell said he expects a bigger turnout for the November election.
“There are some ward races and certainly the at-large councilor race, and collector race should draw attention. With longtime Collector Stanley Iwanicki retiring, voters will choose a new collector, which doesn’t happen very often. It’s an important choice for the city,” Rattell explained.
Holyoke
Ward 1 City Council and Ward 5 School Committee were the only two contests that required a preliminary.
The Ward 1 City Council preliminary ballot featured incumbent Jenny Rivera and challengers Victor Machado and Jose R. Candelario.
Machado received the most votes with 62, while Rivera will also be moving on to the November municipal election ballot with 49 votes.
Candelario only received 17 votes.
The Ward 5 School Committee preliminary involved newcomers Jens M. Michaelsen, James Alan Rossmeisl and Aida Luz Oquendo Oquendo.
Michaelsen received 72 votes and Oquendo received 54 votes. Both will be moving on to face each other in the November election. Rossmeisl received 49 votes.
Incumbent Ward 5 School Committee member John G. Whelihan is not seeking reelection.
The voter turnout was 3% in Ward 1, Precinct A; 2.8% in Ward 1, Precinct B; 4.3% in Ward 5, Precinct A and 2.8% in Ward 5, Precinct B.
Holyoke City Clerk Brenna Murphy Leary talked about the low voter turnout in Holyoke and stated, “Preliminary elections in the city of Holyoke have a history of a low voter turnout especially when there is not a mayoral race. In this past election, we only had two wards voting with each ward only having one contested race each.”
Besides the Ward 1 City Council and Ward 5 School Committee race in November, the ballot will also feature a Ward 3 City Council race and a Ward 4 City Council race.
Incumbent Kocayne S. Givner is not seeking reelection.
The City Councilor at-large field is made up of incumbents, including current City Council President Tessa R. Murphy-Romboletti, Patricia C. Devine, Israel Rivera, Howard B. Greaney Jr., Kevin Andrew Jourdain, and Michael J. Sullivan, as well as newcomers Jennifer M. Keitt, Mimi Panitch and Christopher Dunay.
Of those nine candidates, the top six will take seats on the City Council.
Mayor Joshua Garcia is running uncontested.
Reminder Publishing will preview the ballot as the election gets closer.
